Clamping means



July 12, 1932.

E. wlRscl- UTZ CLAMPING MEANS Filed Sept. 5, 1930 251 Ven for rammed July 12, 1932 lmarmo STATES EDUARD WIBSCHITZ, F MUNICH, GERMANY CLAMPING MEANS Application led September 5, 1930. Serial No.

This invention refers broadly to clamping devices and in articular to clamping means to be employe for'the securing in position of electric conduits or cords in clamping '5 means and-more particularly in connection with so-called strainin clamps? for freely suspended electric con uits, cable-connecting means and the like' in which the member to be secured in position yof the conduit is clamped by wedge-like operating means in a hollow conical seating device. In accordance with previous suggestions wedges have been employed which could operate independently of each other. The manipulation of such loose clamping wedges, however, is extremely dilicult, so that clamping devices which were based on this principle, proved practically unavailable in operation. In order to overcome this difficulty it has been suggested to dispose the wedges in a spring-acting ring, but there was still the inconvenience that the separable wedges being independent of eachA other, became readily disengaged, so as to interfere with the manipulation of such devices. Moreover in spring-operating rings the wedges assembled therein failed to possess the necessary relative movability, while being engaged with a ring, so that it was difficult to cause the wedges to become automatically adjusted to the proper osition in the hollow cone and along the con uit, and to rely upon the clamping land tightening) action being produced merely or mainly y the tension of the conduit or conductor. Now, all these drawbacks are avoided in .this invention by the fact that the wedges on which the clamping action depends and which are seated in the hollow cone will, when assembled const-i tute a perforated cone and are connected into a kind of chain by means of flexible connecting means upon which the wedges are mounted.

The invention will be more fully described by reference to the accompanying drawing showing by way of exemplification an embodiment of the principles of the invention as applied to a straining clamp for high-voltage conductors. 'Fig'. 1 is a side-elevation of the straining clamp; Fig. 2 is a front view with parts in longitudinal section of the clamp 479,965, and. in Germany September 10,*1-9-29.

on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and without the conductor. Fig. 3 is a detail showing the bundled clamping wedges -mounted on the flexible connecting means..

The straining clamp according to Figs. 1 and 2 comprises the hollow conical seating or packing member a in which, for the purpose of clamping the conductor b in the desired position circularly assembled clamping wedges c with roughened interior surface d are inserted which may be forced into engagement with the hollow cone a by means of a screw-threaded sleeve e. .An annulus f serves for securing the sleeve e in its position.

housing sleeve g which is provided with a trunco-conical lower extension and with a preferably trou h-shaped pocket-like inserting recess h an with a socketed jack, ear or `The entire device 1s seated in a supporting or 55 the like z', adapted for the suspension of the 7 complete device. With a view of unit-'ing the important parts of the clamping means, that is to say, wedges c to each other without interfering with their individual movability, the wedges are serially disposed on a iexible metal wire-cord or stranded wire lc, as shown in Fig. 3, and are frictionally fastened thereto, so as to constitute a kind of open chain, the links of whichare equally spaced from each other and are each connected to a clamping wedge c. This relative spacing of the several wedges upon the cord or cable disposed in a recessed portion thereof is ar ranged in accordance with the taper of the conical bore of 'they hollow cone or packing member ain such a manner as to allow of the wedges c sulciently approaching or moving away from each other, and corresponding to the depth of insertion of the wedges intothe seating cone or packing member a. In this operation the sections of the cord c between the wedges c are likely to be bent outwards, suiicient play forthis purpose being provided at the edges of the wedges by roviding the notches Z. The assembling o the wedges c on the wire cord may be effected for instance by providing the outer surface of the wedges c with a counter-sunk groove m into which the cord is forced.

For the purpose of applying the clamping device, the chain formed by the `wedges is taken hold of by the operator with his palm, and by then closing his hand he can easily place them around the conductor b 1n suc a manner that the wedges-c are immediately placed in their relative proper positions and will simultaneously descend into the hollow cone or packing member a without any lia-l bility of one or the other wedge dropping out. In view of the cord lc being disposed in a counter-sunk recess in the wedges c and owing to its movable arrangement within the spaces between the wedges, there will be no dangei of the cord interfering with the clamping action.

It should be understood that the device may be used broadly for uniting conductors, ropes and similar connecting and suspending means to each other or to other members, and that the invention is not confined to the particular form and construction of embodiment herein shown and described by way of exemplification and illustration only, and that modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a clamping device the combination with an outer hollow, conical seating member of a plurality of spacedly disposed sub- P stantially wedge-shaped clamping members in the interior of the hollow member, engageably extending substantially coaxial therewith and clampingly assembled by the taper of the seating member, and flexible connectin means for the members intermediate t e ends thereof, upon which they are spacedly arranged.

2. In a clamping device the combination with an outer hollow, conical seating member ofga plurality of spacedly disposed subn stantially wedge-shaped clamping members in the interior of the hollow member, en ageable and substantially in parallelism t erewith, outwardly unpro'ecting flexible connecting means, space ly connecting the clamplng members intermediate the ends thereof and an interior grippin surface complementally disposed on eac clamping members.

3..In a clamping device the combination with an outer hollow, conical seating member, of a plurality of wedge-sha d clamping members in the mterior of the ollow member, substantiallyA in parallelism therewith, outwardly unprojecting flexible connecting means, frictionally secured to the clamping members and spacedly connecting the same, and notchedv parts at the ed es of the wedges adapted for the reception o forced-outportions of the ilexible connecting means.

4. In a clamping device the combination with an outer hollow, conical seating member of a plurality of wedge-sha ed clamping members in the interior of the ollow member and outwardly engaging therewith, liexers and their narrower ends at thereduced portion of the packing, a recessed part near the broadened portion of the clamping` members, and flexible bundling and connecting means engaging the recessed parts and on which the clampin members are spacedly secured, and an axlally extending gripping surface on the inside of each of the clamping members.

6. Ina clamping device in combination, a substantially sleeve-like supporting and housing member, an upper, vertically disoscd and laterally open, substantially trou h-shaped pocket-like extension on said mem r and a lower downwardly conical seatin extension on said member, a plurality o? substantially wedge-sha ed downwardly cross-sectionally reduce clamping members, flexible connecting means between said members to which the are spacedly secured, complemental circu ar interior ripping surfaces on said clamping mem ers, trunco-conical packing means between the housing and supportmg member and the clamping members, and ring-sha ed vsecuring and locking means, threaded y secured in the packing means above the clamping members. y 4

In testimony whereof I aiix m si ature.

EDUARD WIR C ITZ.

of the 

